About 1.6 billion dollars was loaned to producers under the age of 40.

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Thousands of pages of public comments have been submitted on a rule intended to protect against the threat of mad cow disease.

A federal judge in Sioux Falls one year ago refused to stop some Canadian beef imports but agreed with cattle, consumer and health interests that the U-S Agriculture Department should revisit the issue.

The groups wanted the judge to suspend a rule that went into effect in November 2007 allowing Canadian cattle more than 30 months old into the United States.

According to a status report filed in court, lawyers for the government said that more than 48-hundred pages of comments on the rule have been received and are being evaluated.

The feedback is in response to a September 18th request for comments in the Federal Register.

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Pork industry groups in Canada and the United States don't seem to agree with each other.

The National Pork Producers Council says actions in Canada are negatively affecting prices in the U-S.

However, the Canadian Pork Council says American country-of-origin labelling Laws are creating a much larger problem north of the border.

36 per cent fewer hogs have been exported to the United States this year compared with last year.

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The Canola Council of Canada has a new vice-president of crop production.

Denise Maurice will be responsible for managing the agronomy team and industry issues related to production.

Maurice has worked across the Prairies in weed research and extension for government, and in management of extension, crop protection programs and marketing.

The canola industry has set a target of 15 million tonnes of sustainable canola production by 2015.

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A new seed trait combination will soon be available to farmers.

The Canadian Food Inspection agency has approved a new corn product known as smartstax.

It combines the industries leading above and below ground insect and herbicide tolerant traits to maximize yields for farmers.

The new product is expected to be launched for the 2010 crop year.

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Monsanto is taking a second crack at developing genetically modified wheat -- at least in the United States.

Spokeswoman Trish Jordan says it will take eight to 10 years to produce biotech wheat.

Canadian farmers are still uncertain about the product.

The Canadian Wheat Board says more research is needed before the product is commercialized.

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An analysis released by the U-S Agriculture Department says farmers stand to make more money than they will lose if Congress enacts legislation to limit gases blamed for global warming.

The study is the first to look specifically at the bill's toll on the agricultural sector.

It says higher energy prices will cut into farmers' bottom lines in both the short and long term.

But it also says that the projected one to 7.2 per cent loss in income is far outweighed by the tens of billions of dollars farmers are expected to rake in for projects to reduce greenhouse gases.